


Remains of the day

by Grayhoodiesrule



Category: Alien Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Romance, F/M, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25352821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grayhoodiesrule/pseuds/Grayhoodiesrule
Summary: Walter and Daniels are safe on Origaie-6 (or so it seems), building their new world together. It has been a few months since the landing, but they still haven't confessed their feelings. Today it finally happens.
Relationships: Daniels & Walter (Alien Movies)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Remains of the day

'Come on in. Please don't worry about the floor. It’s not that clean anyway.' she said, stepping aside to let Walter pass through. 

'Thank you.' He squeezed into the narrow hallway, being careful not to splash Daniels, or stain any surface beyond the doormat.

It was a rainy, monsoon season on Origae-6. Water scoured the previously arid and hard-baked land of the cold desert, gathering sand, rocks, and other loose material as it flowed, creating oceans of mud. The synthetic, coming back from a scientific expedition was covered in it. He let the backpack slide off his left shoulder, while leaving his right hand not completely unintentionally hidden behind his back.  
Looking Daniels over, he noted that she was wearing a pair of bulky tactical pants, which he remembered from their time on the 'Covenant'. This item of clothing was meant to be decommissioned by the end of the first colonization stage, but stayed around on a whim. _Just like me _, he thought.__

Daniels, noticing his gaze, shrugged. 'They are warm.'

'It's ok. You are not the only one-- Tennessee keeps an EVA suit helmet on his media console.' 

Daniels let out a small chuckle. "Right. "To impress the ladies".' Everyone knew that the pilot, mourning Maggie, was not interested in dating anyone.

Which brought Walter back to his dilemma. He was still uncertain about the propriety of his intentions. Re appraising his plan many times over the last few hours, he had convinced himself that these were mere samples of a local flora. No double meaning to worry about. And surely none of those connotations would apply, due to him being a synthetic. 'These are for you.' He said, extending his right hand with a clump of white and gray vegetation in it, feeling completely out of his element in doing so. 

'Oh. Thank you!' Daniels' eyes widened in surprise as she took the flowers. Recovering quickly, she leaned in to embrace her android friend, getting her clothes wet in the process. 'That's like months overdue. I'm not surprised you were the only one to think of being so sweet. Being… well…being you.'

Walter shuffled his feet, looking sideways, and a shy smile tugging at his lips.' I'm glad that you liked them.' He said gratefully.

Following their ritual, she stayed to hover while he removed the outdoor gear. He enjoyed her doing so for no apparent logical reason. Possibly it was a behavior he imagined humans might engage in, in order to express companionship. Like if she was taking advantage of every minute of their time together.

'How was your trip?' Daniels asked, looking down at the synthetic as he bent to pull off his boots. Although his dark hair was slightly dump from the few moments outside, it was as perfectly groomed as always. Not a hair out of place. 'You're back sooner than I expected.'

'Luckily, I was able to locate a suitable landing site up in the mountains. It saved me about a day of hiking.' He straightened up from his crouching position. 

'Hm. Last time I've been there with Tee, he said that the terrain is a nightmare, even worse than on…" Her voice trailed away. Taking a pause from unbuttoning his jacket, the synthetic looked up at Daniels. Saw the sadness creep over her face. Her gaze turn inwards, to witness images from the past. Memories, which will never fade. She did not struggle against them. They were part of her now. 'Well, anyway, I texted you.' She said. 'You're here, which means you got it eventually.' 

'I received your message upon returning to a lower altitude. I guessed that you will be eager to discuss the findings as soon as possible, so I sent out the files, and I hope that it was possible for you…' 

'It's not about work.' She looked down at the floor. With surprise, he noticed that she was blushing.At least in 99.9% of the time his EI software allowed him to identify a correct emotion or a sentiment conveyed by a human body. Today would be one of those other days. Something was odd about the way she was behaving, and he couldn't tell why. Even earlier, when she hugged him - he knew. Nothing a human would have probably noticed. He knew by her reaction, that it was not about his gift. Or…was it? 

'I don't want to intrude, or to be presumptuous' He paused.'May I ask if everything is alright?'

‘I'm… fine. Really. ‘She raised a hand and ran it through her hair, cleared her throat lightly. ‘Actually, it’s something you said about David last time we met.'  
Walter watched her carefully. She looked so flustered, so excited. He didn't know how to interpret her behavior. He could recall their last conversation perfectly and it seemed that it was not any different from many others they had had in the past. Reliving the events which had followed their disastrous decision to investigate planet-4 has always been a crucial part of her coping with the trauma. Understandably, she needed him and Tennessee in order to talk about it -the colonists knew nothing about the specifics of the accident or the circumstances which led to it. 'You've mentioned something he said about synthetics.' She explained. 'About your emotional life. It made me wonder…'

He reconsidered. He could see why she might find that distressing.'I apologize if I said something that brought on unpleasant memories. His actions are unforgivable.'

'Walter, you're missing the point. It's a one freaking unpleasant memory and I'm the one who brings it up all the time. Besides, we both know you need to talk about him too. So, please, stop apologizing.'

'Okay.' He said simply. He was looking at the motes of dust which were floating around her, landing on her shoulders. He could sense that she was on a verge of asking a question, her eyes searching his face. Then, with a sigh, she looked away. 'Let's talk about something else.' She turned and walked down the corridor into the living space. The synthetic followed, concern still written on his face.

‘I have the report ready.' He offered. ' I will be glad to go over it with you.'

She nodded. ’I'm sorry about the mess. Have a sit.'

‘Stop apologizing?'He attempted a joke, hoping to lighten her mood.

'Very funny.' Daniels smiled, pushing aside the junk pile of equipment and clothes, which was occupying the majority of the couch. 'Give me a second here.' She touched his shoulder lightly on her way to the kitchen area.

Walter scanned his surroundings. What he saw was a kind of clutter no android could have produced even if he intended to. _Because that would have required some kind of creativity too. _His own unit, situated on the other side of the residential complex, was an exact replica of the one Daniels has been occupying during the last five months, and it was immaculate. It did include the same sofa, kitchen set and a floor lamp. All of which were absolutely unnecessary to him from a logical point of view. Initially, he had objected to accept the unit or the items, planning to spend his free time in the common areas. To his surprise, though, he had discovered that some things had an additional value to them, which had nothing to do with their practical usage. For instance, he rather liked turning his lamp on while sitting on the couch in the evening. Lately, he had been experimenting with positioning himself horizontally while reading. He saw his human companions do so all the time, and he had decided that it would be a waste of equipment not to.__

____

____

‘So?' Daniels prompted.' The site did have a lot of potential on the satellite images.'

‘Your initial calculations were correct.' He replied, sinking deep into the softness of the old sofa. "Grandma Couch", Daniels called it. She told him once that Jacob had been planning to position it by the fireplace in their wooden cabin, but had never actually reached a final decision regarding the fireplace's location. Which would probably remain a mystery forever. Jacob was dead. His cabin was never built. Their current environmental conditions simply did not allow for it to happen.

'It ought to comprise of at least as many as eleven additional sourcing sites.' He started his report. 'I sent out probes to sniff through the reefs. They discovered plenty of sodium nitrate.‘

‘No way!' She exclaimed. 'You know, I doubted it. I thought we will have to go further out west to find one. The soil being so depleted of any minerals. Definitely deserves a toast. Would you like some?'

'No, not today, thank you.' He watched as she programmed the liquor dispenser for a double shot option and drained her glass in one swallow.  
''Cheers', she said, raising the empty glass in his direction.

 _That was unusual._ He had only seen her taking alcohol as a medicine once. When he was standing next to her at the funeral service, wondering how his presence may be of any help to ease the pain of her husband's passing. And now, like then, he couldn't escape the feeling of being useless and out of place, thinking wistfully, that there is only as much an emotional support a synthetic could provide.  
At least he could still be of help at completing some of the technical and operational tasks she requested of him. He sighed- a mannerism he inevitably had picked up through his continuing interaction with humans. He was built to evolve, to learn, to improve his social interactive skills. If only it could have stopped at this. There were other things. Alterations he began noticing about himself. About his cognition and limbic responses. He knew that in certain ways he has changed. That he was changing.  
He reached for his backpack and retrieved the necessary items for the data presentation. When everything was ready, he turned once again to watch her move around the kitchen. He looked at the wild flowers bouquet which was lying on the counter top. He recalled the glacier field upon which he had discovered them, and the four moons he saw rising over the canopy of clouds in the valley below.  
He thought that telling her about his trip may help take her mind off the unpleasant thoughts she was preoccupied with. He prepared to relate his recent experiences to her. He almost spoke.

She stood on her tiptoes to search the top shelf. As she did so, the brim of her shirt slipped up.

He looked at her skin--a stripe of white against the dark background. The impulse came as if from outside his conscious self. He imagined standing beside her. He imagined his hand touching her back. In a beat, his gaze shifted, compelled by some restraining algorithm governing his psyche. Disoriented and distracted, he made an effort to collect himself and to analyze his response rationally.  
As an answer, a memory came--in which he saw himself brushing a strand of hair away from Daniels' sleeping face. It replayed itself in his mind with a vivid intensity. It was a memory of the very first moment he had experienced an urge to touch another, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. _…She was soft and warm and vulnerable. He wanted to serve her better, to protect, but he also wanted to… ___

'Walter, are you listening? You zoned out.' Apparently Daniels found the item she'd been searching for--a dusty container, and was now attempting to arrange the weedy looking flowers in an appealing way. 'I was saying that the current conditions are not ideal.'

Despite his confusion, his voice was level, when he spoke, like that of a particularly characterless AI. ‘We are expected to get good results when we start fertilizing with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Dr. Carson also agreed, after inspecting the soil readings.’

’ Carson? Rachel?’

‘I met her on my way back. She was very kind to offer her help.' Still somewhat distracted, Walter was making an effort to keep a sensible line of conversation, and didn't notice the change in her tone.

'I see.' She cleared her throat.' The flowers are wonderful. Thank you, Walter.’

'You are welcome.' He was looking up at her face. Dark, kind eyes. Small chin. Brown curls. The strange episode he had just experienced was still holding him under its spell. He swallowed. Another mannerism. Meaning to convey what? Nervousness? Hesitation? His next words tumbled out unchecked and uncensored. 'When I was in that field, up in the mountains, I wished you were there too.'

He noticed a slight change in her expression-she looked… He couldn't tell for sure. His EI software has become so utterly unreliable lately. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniels

~~~~~~~~~~~~

_…He meant nothing by it; don't build your hopes up. Look at his face-in a minute he's gonna start lecturing you about the hazards of excessive alcohol consumption _She bent over the flowers to inhale their bitter alien scent. She had never smelled anything similar to it on Earth, but then, she had hardly seen any real wild flowers back home. Maybe once or twice during her early childhood years.  
She wasn't exactly drunk yet, but her limbs began to tingle and she waited for the fuzz of intoxication to begin, for the giddiness to come. She wouldn't usually call herself a coward, but she felt like one now. She had always considered herself more of the straightforward type when it came to dealing with emotions-her own or others'. She had always been the rational type. She looked over at him again-the synthetic was sitting very upright with his hands clasped over his knees, his black hair sleeked to one side, a neutral expression on his face.__

__

___He has emotions too. ____ _

___ _

___How similar or different to a human's were they she would never know, but she had no doubt that Walter cared. She knew for a fact, that if given a choice, he would rather spend his time with her rather than with anybody else. She didn't know what it really meant. After all, it could be possible, that all he needed was some kind of ethereal, platonic android connection with her. Maybe it was all that she needed too._ _ _

___ _

___'All right, show me what you’ve got! ’ She walked back into the living room and joined him on the sofa. She sat next to him much closer than necessary, feeling every part of her body melt just a little each time their arms brushed against each other._ _ _

___ _

___‘Certainly. ‘He leaned forward to pick up the holo cube. After a short manipulation, a colorful projection of a mountain and a ravine sprang to life in front of them. He touched a key and the picture began to move. ‘Here,' he pointed at one particular spot,' the surface proved to be extremely broken, as predicted, cemented together with salts and the sodium nitrates.’_ _ _

___ _

___‘I see it. I hope the ground will be stable enough for the processing plants though.' Daniels replied, and then despite herself, she added,' did you have a good time with Rachel?’ She placed her arm on the back of the couch behind him, cursing herself silently. A ridiculous question to ask. As ridiculous as the jealousy she was feeling, but she couldn't help it.___

___'I'm always happy to maintain a quality working relationship with as many colonists as possible.' He answered smoothly. 'To your other question--the thaw-freeze cycle might cause frost heaving during the winters. Nothing too disruptive for us not to overcome.’_ _ _

_____ _

_____ _

‘That's good to hear,' she mumbled.

Seemingly, noticing nothing, he went back to business. ‘If you look here, you will be able to see it. Erosion has carved the tuff wherever…’

She was hearing his voice but barely listening. Not really. She was looking at his face. At his profile, which was undeniably handsome. The high forehead. The dark, bristly eyebrows drawn in concentration. The attractive hollow under his cheekbone. The sharp angle of his jaw. She noticed once again a hardly visible scatter of freckles over the fair skin of his neck. Horrified, she watched as her own hand reached out to touch him.

Walter froze. Physically and virtually mid-sentence. Everything became very still and very loud in the space between them. Slowly, he lowered his hands between his knees. He didn't turn to look at her or speak, his eyes still fixed on the projection.

Daniels drew her fingers up, to the nape of his neck, under the dark hair. She felt the softness of the strands between her fingers, the warm solidness of him. She couldn't believe it. It was actually happening. After all this time of uncertainty, and doubt, and longing, she was finally touching him. 

'It's not like I've planned this through', she stumbled, 'But I had to ask you…would you be willing to give it a try?'

A silence followed

'Walter?'

If he heard her, he didn't show it. He just sat there still as a statue. She tried again, her voice sounding strange to her own ears.‘Do you want me to stop?’

His lips twitched slightly. ‘No.’

Ok. Good.' Relief was obvious in her voice, but she withdrew her hand anyway. 'Are you uncertain?

‘I am.' He switched off the holo-projector, and turned towards her. His face was wearing the same sheepish, humbled expression he always had on when being praised or acknowledged by her. 'But not in the way I had been then.’

~~~~~~~~~~~

Walter

~~~~~~~~~~~

‘So it doesn't bother you as much anymore?’ Daniels reached out for his idle hand and rubbed her fingers against it.

A spike of sensation. It traveled through his palm, up into his arm. It was warm and indisputably pleasant. So much more in its significance, than a simple act of skin touching skin. No doubt, he understood her query and the basic fact of the situation, consequences of which were fundamentally unthinkable. He deliberated for a second between what would be considered a safe response, and telling the truth.

'I liked it very much.' he finally said.

Daniels drew in a breath sharply at his words, and her whole face lit up. 'Are you just trying to be polite? Because if you are, please stop.'

' I'm always trying to be polite,' he pointed out,' it doesn't rule out the fact that I can appreciate this. 'He brushed his hand against hers briefly to indicate his meaning, but immediately backtracked.

'I apologize. I didn't mean to…'

‘Walter. No. I don't object.'

Encouraged by her words, he reached out for her again, and then slowly, as if unfamiliar with the mechanics of the procedure, intertwined his fingers with hers.

A few moments passed in which they sat very close to each other in silence, holding hands. Walter, his eyes downcast, appeared outwardly calm and composed, while utterly swept away by emotion on the inside. Waves of euphoria were passing through him, lifting him up, as if his body was in zero gravity, only to gently lower him back down again. His eyelids flickered momentarily -- something was happening to him right now. A dopamine surge--his system analysis informed him. The Bio part of his brain was responding to a coding. To a new context

Daniels stirred, and he was surprised by the reluctance he was feeling at the very idea of her moving away from him. To his relief, she did not attempt to withdraw or to take away her hand. On the contrary, she inclined her head towards him. He looked into her eyes, an inch away from his own, trying to read her intention. And then-- a myriad of pseudo-memories rushed through his mind, only one of which a real recollection of his own: Daniels lifting her face to meet her spouse's lips. An image tinted with a sense of sadness, shame, and something else, something he recognized only recently as…longing.  
He felt acutely his inability to perform appropriately in the parameters of this exchange. He knew that he could never become what she needed him to be. He wasn't made to be enough no matter how much he wished he was.

As if sensing his panic, Daniels didn't even attempt a kiss. Instead she gently brushed her lips against his cheekbone; behind his ear; over the sensitive area of his neck. 

This delicate caress sent a whisper of a tingling sensation down his back. Walter felt his eyelids shut closed from the pure pleasure of it. Feeling her body pressing against him the way it did, he thought distractedly about why of all things possible they gave him this, an ability to feel so much, and not just a set of faux reactions and physical signs.

'You smell so nice.' Her voice was soft next to his ear, sending a new wave of currents through his strangely responsive body. 'I have been dreaming about doing this for such a long time.'

_She has been thinking about him? Imagining this? _It could not be possible .But a small part of him, a part which has been disregarded, repressed, and purposefully tucked away into a far corner of his consciousness, it became alive upon hearing her words. It has been awake for some while now. Ever since Planet -4. Ever since David. And the seed of doubt he had planted in his mind.__

__

__He knew that his collagen based skin could have no scent, but he chose to believe her. Believing her made him feel good._ _

____

__

Daniels' warm lips traveled across his cheek, to the corner of his mouth, where a high concentration of nerve endings made the sensation almost impossible to bear. He tightened his grip on her hand like if he was drowning, and she was the only one who could pull him back to safety. Despite clear understanding that situation required a certain response from him, he found himself unable to move. He felt his body start to shiver uncontrollably.

'I'm sorry. I don't know why it's happening to me.' He managed to utter.

She stopped kissing him. 'It's ok. You are doing great. You are just new to this.' She held him gently by the waist, her head settled in the crook of this neck. Gradually, slowly, the trembling calmed down, until it finally ceased completely. Daniels continued to hold him as if she would never let go.

He was so fully immersed in the moment, and so completely preoccupied--his receptors flooded with her adrenaline and increased respiration rate, and her closeness, it took him a whole extra second to comprehend that the noise he was hearing in his ear was actually an income call. For a moment he considered disregarding it- an unprecedented occurrence in his career as a working synthetic, but then his responsible nature took over and he drew back slightly.

'I apologize,' he said, looking at his wrist.' Michael's calling.'

'Yes, of course,' Daniels replied, straightening up too.' You should answer that.'

He touched the small device on his arm without breaking eye contact with her. 'Hi Mike.'

'Walter, it's urgent. I'm sending you my coordinates. I need you to get here as soon as you possibly can. I'll contact the management and Branson next.'

'Actually, Daniels is here with me.'

'Good. Put me on speaker then.'

Daniels raised her eyebrows questioningly, suspecting an emergency, but still hoping that Mike might be calling to ask some work related question. Walter's facial expression was not a very good indicator to gauge the stress level of a situation. Mikes voice sounded from the speaker on Walter's wrist. 

Daniels, I'll need a small investigation group to join me at my current location asap.'

'What's going on?'

'You need to see this. I don't know what the fuck it is, but it doesn't look good.'

Walter watched all color drain from her face and her eyes widen with the realization.  
It sounded similar, too similar... She grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers with so much force it would have made him wince had he been human.

'No. No. No.' She mouthed silently as she listened.

'I don't know how we managed to miss any of this on the satellite scans, but there might be some protective buffer in place. I would not want to jump into any conclusions, but what else can it be other than…'

Daniels took a deep calming breath, doing her best to keep the waves of dizziness and the nausea at bay. 'Mike, listen, whatever it is- don't get close. If you are near it, get the fuck out of there now, and don't try to investigate on your own.'

'It's ok, Danni, I'm at a safe distance…'

'What have you seen so far? The synthetic asked calmly.

'It's a fucking city, Walter. It has been here all along. A six hundred miles east to the settlement, and we didn't know.'

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this in 2017. Took it down for maintenance. Three years forward, I haven't done what I had planned with this work, I just hope that there are people still out there who love this pair, and might enjoy it! I always welcome comments, good or bad!


End file.
